JP2006165995A - Image processor and image processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a function of a slide show with less stress on various users by switching the size of images to be used in the slide show corresponding to the user's purpose of the slide show. <P>SOLUTION: An image processor comprises: a read means for reading image data from a storage medium; a display means for reproducing and displaying the image data read by the read means; a successive display means for displaying the images for which two or more pieces of the image data stored in the storage medium are read by the read means and reproduced at the display means only for fixed time, and reading the other image data from the storage medium by the read means and successively reproducing and displaying them after the lapse of a fixed time; and a display image data selection means capable of selecting between the image to be displayed from the thumbnail of the image data or the image to be displayed from the main image of the images. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus and an image processing method having a function of reading out image data recorded on a storage medium and displaying them sequentially.

  In recent years, image data can be transferred by inserting a storage medium into a composite image processing apparatus (hereinafter referred to as MFP) in which a scanner, printer, FAX, etc. are integrated, or by directly connecting a digital still camera (hereinafter referred to as DSC) to the MFP. MFPs equipped with functions for capturing and printing have appeared, and there is an increasing demand for printing image data taken by DSC without using a PC. Further, an increasing number of models are equipped with a small liquid crystal display (hereinafter referred to as LCD) for reproducing and displaying image data read from a storage medium inserted in the MFP.

  On the other hand, it is possible to easily browse image data in a storage medium without a personal computer (PC) by installing a slideshow function that sequentially displays still images stored in the storage medium on an LCD. It has become.

In Patent Document 1, an image reproducing apparatus that reproduces an image from a storage medium, a reproducing unit that reproduces the image from the storage medium, a display unit that displays an image reproduced by the reproducing unit, and the reproducing unit An operation means for operating the operation means, a detection means for detecting a predetermined operation of the operation means during execution of an interval reproduction mode in which the image is successively reproduced by the reproduction means, and a timing at which the predetermined operation is detected. Proposals have been made regarding an image reproducing apparatus comprising prohibiting means for prohibiting reproduction of the image displayed on the display means in the interval playback mode.
JP 2003-209809 A

  However, when the image processing of the apparatus is not highly functional in displaying an image, it is assumed that the display takes time. Especially for consumer devices, the cost is reduced and, unlike a personal computer or the like, a considerable performance is required just by displaying an image.

  On the other hand, with the development of digital cameras, digital camera images are becoming more detailed and larger in size, so that larger images are increasing. Therefore, there is a current situation in which performance of image display is required in a slide show.

  Therefore, the demand for prompt display at a certain time in a slide show cannot be satisfied. However, even if the data obtained by simply compressing the image data is displayed, the quality of the slide show image is degraded. Some users want to display the slide show function quickly, and some users want to display it carefully. Therefore, satisfactory specifications for both have not been satisfied.

  The present invention has been made paying attention to the above points. By switching the size of images used in the slide show according to the purpose of the user's slide show, the slide show function with less stress for various users is achieved. An object of the present invention is to provide an image processing apparatus and an image processing method for realizing the above.

  In this case, when a slide show is performed, two modes of “fast” and “pretty” are prepared as slide show settings, and data used for image display is changed for each set value when the slide show is performed. Specifically, when “fast” is displayed, if the image has image thumbnail data, the thumbnail data is displayed. On the other hand, when “clean” is set, the main image of the image is used as display data.

  In more detail, the present invention can solve the above problems by the following configuration.

  (1) Reading means for reading image data from a storage medium, display means for reproducing and displaying the image data read by the reading means, and a plurality of image data stored in a storage medium as the reading means An image read out and reproduced by the display means for a predetermined time on the display means, and after the predetermined time has elapsed, another image data is read from the storage medium by the reading means and sequentially reproduced and displayed, and an image to be displayed Display image data selection means that can select whether to display from the thumbnail of the image data or the main image of the image, and when the image is displayed on the display means by the sequential display means, the data type selection An image processing apparatus characterized in that an image used for display can be selected by means of a thumbnail or main image and is displayed by the sequential display means

  (2) A reading step of reading image data from a storage medium, a display step of reproducing and displaying the image data read out by the reading step, and a reading step of a plurality of image data stored in the storage medium A sequential display step of displaying the image read and reproduced by the above-mentioned display step for a certain period of time, reading other image data from the storage medium by the above-mentioned readout step after a certain period of time, and sequentially displaying and displaying the image. A display image data selection step that can select whether to display from the thumbnail of the image data or from the main image of the image, and when the image is displayed in the display step by the sequential display step, the data type selection An image processing method characterized in that an image used for display can be selected as a thumbnail or main image depending on the process, and is displayed in the sequential display process

  Even in an apparatus that does not have a high-performance image processing function, a slide show having both a desire to display quickly and a request to display clearly is possible, and improvement in usability is expected.

  Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to examples.

  First, the outline of the image processing apparatus 100 constituting the image processing system will be described in detail.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an image processing apparatus 100 constituting an image processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  In the image processing apparatus 100, a CPU 101 is a system control unit and controls the entire image processing apparatus 100.

  The ROM 102 stores a control program executed by the CPU 101, an embedded operating system (OS) program, and the like. In the above embodiment, each control program stored in the ROM 102 performs software control such as scheduling and task switching under the management of the embedded OS stored in the ROM 102.

  The RAM 103 is composed of SRAM (static RAM) or the like, stores program control variables, etc., stores setting values registered by the operator, management data of the image processing apparatus 100, and the like, and is provided with various work buffer areas. ing.

  The image memory 104 is configured by a DRAM (dynamic RAM) or the like, and stores image data.

  The data conversion unit 105 converts image data such as analysis of page description language (PDL) or the like, or CG (computer graphics) development of character data.

  The reading control unit 106 optically reads an original by the reading unit 107 using a CIS image sensor (contact image sensor) and converts the image signal into electrical image data via an image processing control unit (not shown). Various image processing such as binarization processing and halftone processing is performed, and high-definition image data is output. In the above-described embodiment, the reading control unit 106 corresponds to both the sheet reading control method for reading while conveying a document and the book reading control method for scanning the document on the document table.

  The operation display unit 108 includes a numeric input key, a character input key, a one-touch telephone number key, a mode setting key, a determination key, a cancel key, and the like. The user determines the image transmission destination data, sets registered value setting data, and saves energy. The operation unit for performing the setting registration operation, various keys, LED (light emitting diode) and LCD (liquid crystal display), etc., and various input operations by the operator, operation status of the image processing apparatus 100, status status It is a display unit that performs display and the like. It is also possible to develop and display the image data in the memory card 118. At the time of display, the data conversion unit 105 used for printing develops the image.

  The communication control unit 109 is configured by a MODEM (modem / demodulation device), an NCU (network control device), or the like. In the above-described embodiment, the communication control unit 109 is connected to the analog communication line (PSTN) 131, and performs line control such as communication control using the T30 protocol and outgoing and incoming calls for the communication line.

  The resolution conversion processing unit 110 performs resolution conversion control such as milli-inch resolution conversion of image data. Note that the resolution conversion unit 110 can also perform enlargement / reduction processing of image data.

  The code decoding processing unit 111 performs code decoding processing and enlargement / reduction processing on image data (MH, MR, MMR, JBIG, JPEG, etc.) handled by the image processing apparatus 100.

  The recording control unit 112 performs various image processing such as smoothing processing, recording density correction processing, and color correction on the image data to be printed via an image processing control unit (not shown), and converts the image data into high-definition image data. And output to the recording unit 113 (described later). In addition, by controlling the recording unit 113, it also plays a role of periodically acquiring status information of the recording unit 113.

  The recording unit 113 is a printing apparatus such as a laser beam printer or an inkjet printer, and prints color image data or monochrome image data on a printing member.

  The paper feed unit 114 is a part that can hold paper for printing. Paper can be fed from the paper feed unit 114 under the control of the recording control unit 112. In particular, the paper feeding unit can prepare a plurality of paper feeding units in order to hold a plurality of types of paper in one apparatus. The recording control unit 112 can control which paper feeding unit is used for paper feeding.

  The USB function control unit 115 performs communication control of the USB interface, performs protocol control in accordance with the USB communication standard, converts data from the USB control task executed by the CPU 101 into packets, and external information processing terminals. In addition, USB packet transmission is performed, or conversely, a USB packet from an external information processing terminal is converted into data and transmitted to the CPU 101.

  The data storage unit 116 is a part for storing data. Since the data backup area is not prepared in the DRAM of the image memory 104, a data storage area is prepared as a data storage unit in this embodiment. In some cases, the image memory 104 may be shared. Data backup or the like can be performed in the data storage unit 116. In this embodiment, a DRAM is used. However, this is not the case because a hard disk or a volatile memory may be used.

  The USB host control unit 117 is a control unit for performing communication using a protocol defined by the USB communication standard. The USB communication standard is a standard capable of performing bidirectional data communication at high speed, and a plurality of hubs or functions (slaves) can be connected to one host (master).

  The memory card 118 is a data storage medium and can be connected to the image processing apparatus 100. In this embodiment, it is connected to the USB host controller 117 via an interface, but this is not restrictive. Image data and other electronic data can be accessed from the memory card through the USB host control unit 117.

  In this embodiment, the USB communication of the recording function uses a one-to-one connection form.

  The components 101 to 106 and 108 to 114 are connected to each other via a CPU bus 121 managed by the CPU 101.

  FIG. 2 is an example showing a specific example of the operation unit 108 of the image processing apparatus 100.

  The operation unit 108 includes an LCD 201, a power key 202, a copy mode key 203, a film mode key 204, a scan mode key 205, a photo mode key 206, a menu key 207, a return key 208, and a photo index sheet key. 209, a minus key 210, a plus key 211, a set key 212, a slide show key 213, a paper setting key 214, a feeder select key 215, a STOP key 216, a monochrome start key 217, and a color start key 218. Have

  The LCD display 201 is a display that displays messages, operation prompts, and various information.

  A power key 202 is a key for turning on / off the power of the apparatus.

  A copy mode key 203 is a key for making the image processing apparatus 100 ready for copying. By pressing the copy mode key 203, the apparatus can be set to the copy mode.

  A film mode key 204 is a key for making the image processing apparatus 100 ready to print from a film. By pressing the film mode key 204, the apparatus can be set to the fax mode.

  A scan mode key 205 is a key for setting the image processing apparatus 100 in a scannable state. By pressing the scan mode key 205, the apparatus can be set to the fax mode.

  A photo mode key 206 is a key for making the image processing apparatus 100 ready for direct printing from a digital photo card or camera. By pressing a photo mode key 206, the apparatus can be put into a photo mode.

  A menu key 207 is a key for displaying items for setting setting values at the time of execution such as copying, faxing, and direct printing from a card. By pressing the menu key 207, the setting items for execution can be displayed on the LCD 201, and can be selected with the plus key 211 or the minus key 210 and set with the set key 212.

  A return setting key 208 is a key used to return an operation when a user registers a setting value to be set in the apparatus.

  A photo index sheet key 209 is a key that can shift to a screen for printing or reading a photo index sheet. If this key is pressed while the memory card 118 is inserted in the image processing apparatus 100, the screen shifts to a screen that can instruct printing or reading of the photo index sheet. Whether the reading is printing or not is selected with the plus key 211 or the minus key 210, and set with the set key 212. Details of the photo index sheet will be described with reference to FIG.

  The minus key 210 and the plus key 211 are keys used when the user selects from a plurality of options such as a menu or user registration. Minus and plus are reverse and forward, respectively.

  A set key 212 is a key for making a decision on a selected item.

  The slide show key 213 is a specification for displaying images on the memory card 118 in order on the display unit 108 using display.

  The paper setting key 214 is a key for pressing and setting paper settings for copying and other printing.

  A feeder select key 215 is a key used when switching to a paper feeding unit to be used when the paper feeding unit of the paper feeding unit 114 has a plurality of paper feeding parts.

  The STOP key 216 is a key for stopping facsimile transmission / reception, copying, and other operation operations.

  A monochrome start key 217 is a key for starting monochrome transmission and monochrome copying.

  The color start key 218 is a key for starting color facsimile transmission, color copying, color photo printing, and the like.

  FIG. 3 shows an example of the format of the image in the memory card.

  Digital data such as image data, music data, and text data can be stored in the memory card. Among them, the present embodiment is an apparatus that can display image data in a memory card. In particular, in this case, an image having an image format as shown in FIG. 3 is targeted. An image taken with a digital camera is often stored in such a format.

  First, it has some information as image tag information. In the embodiment, information such as the number of pixels, shooting date and time, model name, and the like is included. Next, it has thumbnail information as a format. The thumbnail information can be said to be a reduced version of the image, and is a 160 × 120 pixel size image of the image. The main image is image data itself.

  An image is stored in the memory card in such a format, and becomes information used for display or printing.

  In the present embodiment, the thumbnail has a size of 160 × 120 pixels. However, the thumbnail is not limited as long as the information is reduced information.

  FIG. 4 shows an example of slide show mode setting.

  This is a flow for setting a slide show mode in the apparatus 100. First, in step 401, it is determined whether or not a slide show mode has been set. Specifically, the setting is performed by selecting a slide show mode setting item by pressing the menu key 207 of the operation unit. If the slide show mode is set, the process goes to step 402 next. If the slide show mode is not set, in step 401, whether or not the paper feed switching is performed is kept waiting.

  In step 402, the user is prompted to select what slide show mode is to be set. When the user selects “Pretty”, the slide show mode is set to “Premium” in Step 403. If the user selects “fast”, the slide show mode is set to “fast” in step 404.

  The slide show mode can be set by the method shown above. In the present embodiment, two types of slide show settings are set. However, the present invention is not limited to this in the case of setting values for changing an image to be acquired according to the settings.

  FIG. 5 shows an example of the slide show operation.

  This is a flow when a slide show is performed in the apparatus 100.

  First, in step 501, it is determined whether or not a key for performing a slide show has been pressed. If the slide show key is pressed, the process goes to step 502 next. If the slide show key is not pressed, it is continued in step 501 whether or not the slide show key is pressed.

  In step 502, an image to be displayed in the slide show is called from the memory card. Therefore, it is confirmed whether an image is stored in the memory card. Next, the process proceeds to step 503. In step 503, it is determined whether there is an image in the memory card. If there is an image, a slide show operation is performed in step 504. Details of the operation are shown in FIG. If it is determined in step 503 that there is no image in the memory card, it is displayed in step 505 that a slide show cannot be performed.

  The slide show is executed as shown in the above figure. In this embodiment, the slide show is executed by pressing a button, but this is not the case when the slide show function is started.

  Next, FIG. 6 shows an embodiment of selecting an image for display during a slide show.

  Here, images are displayed during a slide show, but the displayed images can be changed according to the settings. In particular, even in an apparatus that takes a long time to display, a thumbnail image obtained using an image format used in a digital camera or the like can be used to quickly display the image. Even if it is not a high-performance machine, it can realize the operation as set.

  First, let n be the order of images in the memory card 118. M is the number of images stored in the memory card 118.

  First, in step 601, the current image number n is set to 1, and the process proceeds to step 602. In step 602, the nth image data is called from the memory card 118.

  Next, in step 603, determination is made by setting the slide show mode. This is set according to FIG. If the mode is “beautiful”, the process goes to step 604 to acquire the main image data of the nth image in the memory card. If an image is acquired in step 604, the process proceeds to step 610. In step 610, the display in step 605 or 608 is displayed for 5 seconds. Next, in step 611, it is determined whether any key is pressed.

  Since the operation of the slide show stops when the key is pressed, the key press is confirmed here. If the key is pressed, the process is terminated. If no key is pressed, the process proceeds to step 609.

  In step 609, it is determined whether or not the current image number n is smaller than the image number M in the memory card 118. If it is smaller, the process proceeds to step 613, and the process proceeds to step 602 again so that n is incremented by 1 and the next image is displayed. If it is determined in step 609 that n is not smaller than M, then in step 612, n is initialized to 1. In this case, the slide show is in a state where all images on the memory card 118 are displayed. Therefore, n is initialized in step 612, and the display is started again from the beginning of the image on the memory card 118 by going to step 602.

  By doing in this way, the operation of acquiring the main image or the thumbnail of the image on the memory card 118 can be performed according to the setting of the slide show. In the case of displaying thumbnails, even if the image processing apparatus of the apparatus is low in performance, the display can be performed promptly. Therefore, this is a method that can be used as a method for quickly displaying the slide show set here. In addition, there are two types of slide show settings in this way. Depending on the user's purpose, if you want to see a lot of images quickly, you can use the “Fast” setting. This makes it possible to meet a plurality of types of user requests even with the same function, so that a function with higher usability can be achieved.

  As described above, when you want to display images quickly in the slide show function and when you want to display images neatly, you can perform processing according to the purpose by using different thumbnails and seed images. Can be done.

  An apparatus capable of processing a memory card in the apparatus and processing a memory card inserted into the apparatus from an external connection device.

Configuration diagram showing configuration of image processing apparatus The figure which shows one Example of the operation part in an image processing apparatus The figure which shows one Example of the format of the image in a memory card The figure which shows one Example of the mode setting of a slide show The figure which shows one Example of operation | movement of a slide show The figure which shows one Example of the image selection for the display at the time of a slide show

Explanation of symbols

100 Image processing apparatus 101 CPU
102 ROM
103 RAM
104 Image memory 105 Data conversion unit 106 Reading control unit 107 Reading unit 108 Operation and display unit 109 Communication control unit 110 Resolution conversion processing unit 111 Code decoding processing unit 112 Recording control unit 113 Recording unit 114 USB host control unit 115 USB function control Unit 116 recording unit signal line control unit 117 digital camera 118 memory card 121 CPU bus 131 communication line 201 LCD display unit 202 power key 203 copy mode key 204 fax mode key 205 scan mode key 206 photo mode key 207 menu key 208 return key 209 Photo index sheet key 210 Minus key 211 Plus key 212 Set key 213 Phonebook key 214 Redial key 215 Numeric keypad group 216 STOP key 217 Monochrome Start key 218 Color start key

Claims (2)

Reading means for reading image data from the storage medium;
Display means for reproducing and displaying the image data read by the reading means;
A plurality of image data stored in a storage medium is read by the reading unit and an image reproduced is displayed on the display unit for a certain period of time, and other image data is read from the storage medium by the reading unit after a certain period of time has elapsed. Sequential display means for sequentially reproducing and displaying,
A display image data selection means for selecting whether to display an image to be displayed from a thumbnail of image data or a main image of the image;
When displaying an image on the display unit by the sequential display unit, the data type selection unit can select whether the image used for display is a thumbnail or a main image, and the sequential display unit displays the image. Processing equipment. A reading step of reading image data from the storage medium;
A display step of reproducing and displaying the image data read out by the reading step;
A plurality of image data stored in a storage medium is read out by the reading step, and an image reproduced is displayed on the display step for a certain period of time, and after the predetermined time has elapsed, other image data is read from the storage medium by the reading step. A sequential display process for sequentially reproducing and displaying,
A display image data selection step for selecting whether to display an image to be displayed from a thumbnail of image data or a main image of the image;
When displaying an image in the display step by the sequential display step, an image used for display can be selected by the data type selection step as a thumbnail or a main image, and the image is displayed in the sequential display step Processing method.

Images